Rhythmix Awards Golden Gears

Rhythmix Cultural Works will be awarding three East Bay residents with the Golden Gear Award for their outstanding contributions to the Bay Area arts community.

The awards will be given to Mi’Chelle Fredrick for visual art, Terri Odabi for performance art and Lorrie Murry for art education. Fredrick, an Alameda native, received her award for her water color paintings, along with colored pencil, graphite, mixed media and photography work.

"It is my hope that my work, through detailed explorations of the subjects I choose, will cause viewers to pause and consider their surroundings and the impact their actions may have upon the world around them," said Fredrick. You can view her work at popupautobody.com/tag/
michelle-fredrick.

Odabi is a musician from Oakland. She sings a mixture of rhythm and blues and jazz songs. "I feel like the blues not only need to be preserved but also need to be heard and appreciated by all generations," said Odabi. Odabi’s works can be found at artistcard.com/terrie.

Lastly, Murray, also an Alameda native, won for art education for her work as the founder of
Alameda Music Project.

"I founded Alameda Music Project in order to provide music education to children who would otherwise not have the opportunity," said Murray. "The program is inspired by a belief that music education can and should be used as a means of uplifting and unifying an underserved community, starting with the youth."

To learn more about the Alameda Music Project, visit alameda musicproject.org.

The awards will be handed out at Rhythmix’s Wine, Women & Song Extravaganza Saturday, Aug. 23. The event is a showcase for female musicians and dancers of the East Bay. The event starts at 7 p.m. and costs $25.

To learn more about Rhythmix; the Golden Gear winners or the Wine, Women and Song event; visit rhythmix.org.

The event offers a free and safe gathering for the community that is focused on giving back to the families of Alameda with a day full of games, prizes, food, bounce houses, rock climbing walls and much more.

More than 1,000 people attended the event last year. The fair will be from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Calvary Church is located at 1516 Grand St. To learn more about the fair or the church, visit calvarychurch.org or call Chris Surdi at (650) 793-3636.

Coast Guard Cutter returns with millions in illegal drugs

The U.S. Coast Guard crew manning the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Bertholf returned to its home in Alameda Monday, Aug. 11, after a 140-day deployment.

The crew spent more than four months seizing more than $183 million worth of illegal drugs, according to Coast Guard officials, while deployed on the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

They spent most of their time off the coast of Central and South America.

The mission was a part of the Joint Interagency Task Force South counter-drugs operation, according to the Coast Guard. The task force monitors illicit traffickers and assists U.S. and multi-national law enforcement agencies with the interdiction of illicit traffickers.

"Because our missions were a success, it made coming home even better," commanding officer of the Bertholf Capt. Mark Frankford said in a statement.